A contingency fee agreement is a contract agreed to by you and your lawyer, which details the basis of your relationship. It is frequently used in car accident cases.
Commonnon-financial clauses in a contingency fee agreement relate to the authority of the lawyer to act on your behalf ; circumstances forclient or lawyer withdrawal; confidentiality between the lawyer and client, and how you can have the agreement reviewed after signing it if you feel that it is unjust .
With respect to the financial side of things, a lawyer will take a certain % of your overall settlement amount as payment for legal fees . You are not required to pay any money upfront in the form of a retainer, you are not required to make any monthly payments for fees, and you are not required to make any payments for disbursements throughout the course of your case. When a settlement is received on your behalf, the money is placed in the lawyer’s trust account, out of which your portion of the settlement proceeds will be paid to you .
A basic example is where the settlement amount is for $10,000, plus disbursements. Your lawyer, who has paid your disbursements along the way, is entitled to the amounts for these disbursements . Out of the remaining $10,000, your ICBC injury lawyer will take his or her legal fee, plus applicable government taxes on the legal fee portion only. The remaining balance will be yours.
Something you need to be aware of is that a plaintiff ICBC lawyer may charge interest on disbursements, which can be considerable on certain files. It is best to look around, as some lawyers do not . Additionally, some lawyers make the clients pay for the entire amounts of disbursements, plus interest, in the event that the claim is unsuccessful. Again, some lawyers do not make clients pay for these, so again it is in your best interests to find a personal injury lawyer vancouver who does not.
Above all, do not feel pressured to sign a contingency fee agreement at your preliminary meeting with your lawyer . If you feel uneasy in any way , it is best not to sign the agreement until you have had a good amount of time to review it.